Excess Estrogen

Excess Estrogen is an imbalance that typically occurs when the body has higher levels ofestrogen than normal. It may also happen when levels of estrogen are normal, but still higher than those of progesterone in the women’s body. Estrogen itself is a female hormone that affects all female sexual organs, including the ovaries, cervix, fallopian tubes, vagina and breasts and an imbalance of it can cause many symptoms to occur. The balance of woman's hormones is a very delicate biologic process; and multiple causes, such as aging, environmental factors or stress, may result in the process being thrown off balance. Due to the fact that Excess Estrogen has two main ways of presenting itself (high estrogen or low progesterone),

The next step in treatment is finding out what is the cause of the imbalance. A number of causes and situations can bring about Excess Estrogen. Prescription hormonal  ontraceptives can input too much estrogen into the woman’s body if the dosage is too high. Environmental factors such as food, water, and air pollutants have the ability to mimic estrogen in the body, creating excess estrogen-like activity. The human body can also have dramatic swings in production of the hormones with increased age and this can bring about a multitude of symptoms. Stress and obesity, along with many other factors, also have the ability to cause the biologic process to go out of balance.

The symptoms associated with Excess Estrogen vary greatly from patient to patient, however the most common are mood swings, irritability, depression, anxiety, hair loss and weight gain among many others. When looking at treatments for Excess Estrogen caused by environmental pollutants, the only one available is removal of exposure to those chemicals. This can be achieved by researching which types of food have the least contaminates, which recycled materials/products are the least harmful and removal of first hand exposure due to air quality.

Treatment of stress induced imbalances is only achieved by the removal of that stress. Options to achieve this include: stress management activities, relaxation techniques and in more severe cases prescription anxiolytics such as Xanax or Ativan. Excess Estrogen resulting from changes in the body’s production is a much more patient specific when it comes to treatment options. The most common method used is hormone replacement therapy. In essence hormone replacement therapy tries to mimic the natural human body’s production of those hormones in attempt to balance the dramatic swings in concentrations. Understanding your options and finding an appropriate treatment are essential elements in correcting the imbalance of Excess Estrogen.